The Pros And Cons Of Jihad

“One person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter (Barash 2014: 174).” This one statement explains every war to ever be fought and also the delicate subject of terrorism. The line between who is the bad guy and the good guy will always be difficult to draw because everyone fights for a different reason. In this same sense every “terrorist” has his or her own story. Rarely can one blaring reason can be found to explain why attacks happen. Every soldier has a different reason for fighting, no matter what side of the front they are on. The same is true of terrorists. People the Western world may hold up as a hero the Eastern may condemn as the worst kind of terrorist, we know the opposite is true. Many people the West proclaim to be terrorists

This word is one many, myself included have come to associate with terrorism, but it is not the correct connotation of the word. Jihad is a word encompassing many meanings, one of which leaders are able to construe to convince others to fight for their cause. “For Muslims, jihad is much more than armed struggle against an enemy from the outside, for it includes constant struggles within both oneself and one’s own society (Gomaa 2014: 197).” Only for the case of a just cause will Muslims take up arms in the name of jihad. Meanings of jihad include, but are not limited to “… spiritual exercise of opposing lower self… referring to the pilgrimage to Mecca… speaking truth to those in power… defense of a nation or a just cause (Gomaa 2014: 197).” No Muslim is going to start fighting according to jihad for anything short of a just cause. Does this mean leaders cannot make a cause sound just simply to get recruits fighting? No, they can do this, but both Western and Eastern leaders omit truths to their followers. If they did not lie at some point they would never have any followers. To blame jihad for terror is irresponsible, soldiers may be fighting under it to protect their nation, but they are not blindly

Western civilization has started to associate jihad with terrorism, even though this is not the meaning of the word. Jihad is simply a struggle. An armed struggle must be just in order for any Muslim to take up arms in the name of jihad. Secondly, suicide attacks cannot be looked at as singular people making a bold statement. In most cases suicide missions are part of a larger whole looking to free themselves from oppression. Finally, the way America reacts to terrorism is in its own way terrorism. Most of the United States’ responses to terrorism have led to more deaths than the terrorist groups themselves cause. In order to start to fix the mess terrorism has caused across the world we need to embrace our differences. Some states may not flourish under a democratic leader; the West needs to accept this. In the same way, Eastern leaders need to understand the West does flourish with democracy and will protect its right to that form of leadership. As with all conflicts, there will never be an answer to everyone will love, but there are fixes that we could all live with. It is time for world leaders to agree to disagree and stop punishing innocent civilians who live where fighting